Good Example of stucco architecture. Plaster covers brick in stucco work and is painted white. The dark color of brick absorbs heat. Stucco is applied for white paint, which reflects heat and keeps buildings cool. The Spanish used this technique in southern Andalusia, Spain and brought it to their missions in California 
The coil on top of the wall corner may refer to a beehive. Monasteries still make honey to be self-sufficient in foodand sell the excess to earn money for monastery upkeep.
This gate leads into the cactus garden. In an emergency, cactus plants can be used for water and cactus leaves can be cut up and fried or put into omelets as food. The alcoves originally held statues of saints and Christ.
Agave plant outside the mission garden. Tequila is made from agave plants. Monasteries can cook with tequila, drink it, and sell it for profit and use the profits to maintain the monastery.
Olive tree n the mission garden. The priests and nuns could press their own olive oil for use in religious rites and for cooking. This area is surrounded by vineyards and olive trees. San Miguel Arcangel is located on a valley floor between the inter-coastal mountain range about 12 miles outside San Luis Obispo.
Cactus garden at San Miguel Arcangel with baby agave plants. Pickers can be removed from cactus leaves with the leaf or paddle chopped up to be sautéed with scrambled eggs. Cumin, salt, and pepperadded to the eggs makes the cactus taste like meat with a slight citrus flavor. You can eat the cactus (nopal) with eggs accompanied by pico de gallo salsa and tortilla chips or place the egg and cactus in rolled up tortillas. Photo by Laurent Paget
Wine is made on the premises for Eucharistic purposes during mass. The bottom half of this wine barrel has been used as a flowerpot for roses. Rose petals and buds can be dried to make a tea that is high in Vitamin C. The white pipe helps drain the rose bush. Text and photo by Ruth Paget.
This photo shows a half moon opening on the wine barrel that was once part of a circular opening in the barrel called a bung hole. The opening had a cork-like cap that was removed to fill and empty the barrel. While the wine is aging, the winemaker can siphon off some of the wine through the bung hole for tasting and evaluating the harvest year wine as well. Text and photo by Ruth Paget
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Dying rose can signal disease or blight in vineyards. These roses are located just across the street from vineyards in San Miguel. The rose bush is full of buds with several blooming. The vineyards appear to be safe for the 2025 harvest in San Miguel Arcangel, California.
Mission kitchen gadgets and local ingredients: By the back wall is a curved stone metate with a stone rolling pin for crushing dried corn kernels to make into flour for tortillas. In the middle of the photo is a mocajeta (also spelled as molcajete) for pounding wet or dry ingredients. A molcajete is a mortar and pestle. You can make guacamole in it or fresh salsa like pico de gallo with onions, tomatoes, chile peppers, and cilantro. A butcher’s block with meat (pork?) is in front of the photo. Local ingredients on the table include radishes, carrots, red leaf lettuce, carrots, and oranges.
Another photo from the kitchen shows a comal for cooking tortillas. The pots with long handles could go in a fireplace.
Priests ate eggs, grapes, fish, apples, pears, and bread in their dining room. Most of these items can be obtained locally. Bread is harder to procure locally, but rice grows in California outside Sacramento in case flour runs short.
Kitchen photos by Laurent Paget, Kitchen photos text by Ruth Paget
Model of what San Miguel Arcangel Mission looked like when it was originally completed in the 18th century. Photo by Laurent Paget.
For tours and visiting hours look up the mission’s website.
Text and photos by Ruth Paget, author Eating Soup with Chopsticks and Marrying France
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